Travellers in prison initiative IPEA CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 2016 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Travellers in prison initiative IPEA CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 2016 Irish Penal Reform Trust Irish Penal Reform Trust (2014) Travellers in the Irish Prison System A Qualitative Study http://www.iprt.ie/files/
IPEA CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 2016
‘Irish Penal Reform Trust’ (2014) Travellers in the Irish Prison System – A Qualitative Study http://www.iprt.ie/files/ IPRT_Travellers_Report_web.pdf
Travellers over-represented in prison – (all ireland Travellers health
study)
Travellers make up less than 1% of population but according to IPS
estimates
Traveller women make up over 20 % of the prison population and Traveller men up to 15%
Travellers as a % of the population
Traveller women as a % of women in prison
Socio-economic factors – difficulty in making a living legitimately –
(theft), low levels of education, poor living conditions, chaos/ violence
Increasing dependency on drugs and alcohol Mental health problems Discrimination in society and in the criminal justice system
(internalised oppression, over policed, more likely to be detained, harsher sentences??)
Without ethnic identifier we cant really know why!
Discrimination Not accessing services/supports in prison –(literacy – difficulties
accessing information, negative associations with accessing services especially a school environment
Contact with family – impact of being separated from family, and
missing important family occasions
Internal conflict in prison – protection wing Depression and other mental health problems
Stigma Traveller women are more likely than other women in prison to be
mothers, to have a greater number of children, and to have children at a younger age and more likely that their children are in care
Mental health issues (even more common than among Traveller
men)
Possibly leaving and returning to a violent/abusive situation Problem of finding somewhere to live post-release
Improve outcomes for
1 Building a knowledge base about Travellers in prison
TPI Programmes
Actions Ethnic Data Collection and Monitoring Traveller Women in Prison Research Learning from other Places
TPI Programmes
Actions
services for Travellers
Understanding more about Access – (interviews with service providers) Encouraging and Promoting Access -ETB Counselling Services Continuum
TPI Programmes
Actions
prison, and after prison, using a multi-agency approach3
Piloting Family Support Model Developing Family Support Resources
TPI Programmes
Actions
4 Strengthening Self-identity and Self-advocacy for
Travellers in prison by mainstreaming a peer-support model
TPI Newsletter Prison-based Peer Support Groups Prison-based Peer Mediation TPI Network
1) Encouraging Travellers to want to participate 2) Creating an atmosphere in prison in which participation is both
normal and positive
3) Providing suitable services in prison
The public sector equality and human rights duty, which was
introduced with the enactment of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 requires all public bodies to take proactive steps to:
(a) eliminate discrimination, (b) promote equality of opportunity and treatment of its staff and
the persons to whom it provides services, and
(c) protect the human rights of its members, staff and the persons to
whom it provides services.
To develop a plan and actions to be put in place to address those
issues in the organisations strategic plan
And report in a manner that is accessible to the public on
developments and achievements in that regard in an annual report
The introduction of the Public Sector Duty and the support and
guidance of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, should lead to the further development of a systematic integration of an equality and human rights perspective into the ongoing work of the prison service in Ireland.
THANK YOU……